After Libyan forces opened fire on the “Sea-Watch 5”, Italy is now investigating – but targeting the victims of the attack. Brussels intends to give the perpetrators €25 million in a new spring programme.

Last Monday, the so-called Libyan coast guard fired on the “Sea-Watch 5” in the central Mediterranean. On 11 May, the crew of the civilian rescue vessel had brought 90 migrants to safety from a rubber dinghy in distress at sea. A Libyan patrol boat with the identifier “101” approached and fired a single shot without warning, then a full volley. Over the radio, the armed personnel threatened to force the German-flagged “Sea-Watch 5”, with those rescued on board, back to Libya.

The sea rescue workers sent out a distress call and informed Italian and German authorities of the attack. The latter should, in theory, have been prepared: in the preceding days, the Federal Interior Ministry had issued a special warning to all rescue vessels flying the German flag. It declared a “threat level 2” for Libya’s exclusive economic zone and the country’s search and rescue zone, citing previous use of weapons.

Long list of incidents

Following last week’s attack, Sea-Watch immediately published details. According to these, the small Libyan patrol boat from which the shots were fired had been accompanied by the “Murzuq”, carrying the number “662”. This larger vessel had been handed over by Italy to the so-called Libyan coast guard in June 2023. As the “Sea-Watch 5” headed north, the “Ras Jadir” numbered ” 648″ appeared – a patrol boat Italy had gifted to the Tripoli government as far back as May 2017.

Both large vessels appear multiple times in a record compiled by rescue organisations documenting 75 extreme acts of violence by Libyan militias in the Mediterranean since 2016. According to this record, the “Ras Jadir” threatened the “Sea-Watch 3” shortly after its handover in 2017 and contributed to an incident in November in which around 50 people drowned. In June 2021, its crew fired on a refugee boat and attempted to ram it. In April 2025, the crew of the “Ras Jadir” directed an automatic weapon on the Italian “Aita Mari” and shouted “Go home” to prevent the vessel from conducting a rescue.

The “Murzuq 662” pursued the “Humanity 1” – also flying the German flag – in March 2024 with assault rifles and fired warning shots. In August 2025, the patrol boat fired on the Norwegian-flagged “Ocean Viking” for a full 20 minutes.

EU praises cooperation with Libya

Following the latest attack on the “Sea-Watch 5”, a European Commission spokesperson stated at a press conference that the incident had been noted. The EU delegation in Tripoli would be in contact with “partners” in Libya regarding the matter.

When a journalist asked whether the EU had ever been able to establish findings on previous shootings targeting rescue vessels, the spokesperson deflected and referred to “technical missions” and “dialogues” in which such incidents were addressed. However, according to nd’s research, the Commission has been keeping all details on this matter secret for years.

On the long list of violence attributed to the so-called Libyan coast guard, another spokesperson stated verbatim at the press conference: “Of course we are aware of these very regrettable incidents. We do not know how many were prevented, precisely because we have consistently engaged with the Libyan authorities on this subject.”

Sea-Watch considers this portrayal cynical. “Without the financial, political and material support of the EU, the so-called Libyan coast guard would have neither the means nor the equipment to carry out such acts of violence at sea,” a spokesperson told nd. Green MEP Erik Marquardt likewise regards it as a “moral declaration of bankruptcy by the European Commission that these militias are being funded with EU taxpayers’ money for their attacks on innocent people.”

German government stays silent

The German government has yet to comment on the renewed attack on the “Sea-Watch 5”, despite Germany being responsible as the flag state for the vessel’s safety – and despite the Federal Police having investigated three previous incidents involving shots fired at German rescue ships. One such complaint was also filed by Sea-Watch, after the crew of the “Sea-Watch 5” came under fire from Libyan forces during a rescue operation in September 2025.

Sea-Watch points out that the Bundeswehr has for years been involved in the EU military mission “Irini” in the Mediterranean, and thus in support of Libyan militias at sea: in November 2025, EU member states agreed to resume training measures for the benefit of the Libyan coast guard.

New EU funding despite attacks

Since 2017, the EU has supported the establishment and development of a Libyan coast guard through the SIBMMIL programme, under two framework contracts totalling €61 million, with Italy tasked with implementation. Through another EU’s border police programme, a further €5 million followed for the establishment of a maritime rescue coordination centre in Tripoli.

Green MEP Marquardt describes the beneficiaries of the EU programmes as “criminal mafia structures”. The EU is now pressing ahead with its cooperation with these Libyan units. This spring, the Commission launched implementation of its “Pact for the Mediterranean”, which provides funding to southern Mediterranean neighbours, including for migration deterrence.

As of this year, Libya will receive a further €25 million for “border management”. Officially, this is intended to strengthen the search and rescue capacities of the so-called coast guard. An additional €5 million will go towards “EU training support for Libya’s border security and border management institutions.”

Italy tightens repression against “Sea-Watch 5”

The implementation of this and other cooperation arrangements was negotiated by the European Commission at a high-level meeting with the Libyan government in Tripoli last week – at the very same time the attack on the “Sea-Watch 5” was taking place. A conference involving ambassadors from EU member states and several unnamed “like-minded partners” had taken place shortly beforehand in Rome.

Also simultaneously, Italy is intensifying its repression of civilian rescue vessels. The “Sea-Watch 5” was directed to a port in Brindisi assigned by Italy – nearly four days’ sailing away; on the way there, the crew rescued a further 64 people from distress at sea.

Following arrival on Saturday, Italian authorities opened criminal proceedings against the captain of the “Sea-Watch 5”. The police was at the bridge for several hours, seized documents and equipment and took crew members for interrogating. The charge is “aiding and abetting unlawful entry”, though the reasoning behind it remains unclear.

Vessel yet not seized

It is the first such case brought against a civilian rescue vessel in Italy since 2020 and is reminiscent of the “Iuventa” case: the vessel belonging to the German organisation “Jugend rettet” was seized in 2017 and the crew placed under suspicion of people smuggling. After nearly eight years, a court acquitted the accused on all charges – while the “Iuventa” had meanwhile been rotting in the harbour of Trapani in Sicily.

Whether the “Sea-Watch 5” must remain in Brindisi or will soon be able to return to its mission is not yet certain. “As there is no seizure or detention order in place, the vessel is currently in principle theoretically free to leave the port,” Sea-Watch stated when asked.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: The shots were fired by a Libyan patrol boat with the identifier “101”. It was accompanied by two larger vessels (Sea-Watch).